A Cup of Water

‘Tis the season of giving, yet it is more often the season of getting.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

I am reflecting on Jesus’ words about offering a cup of water to his little ones.  Water is so easy to give when we have it available.  In fact, so easy that we don’t really think of offering it.  But in the time when Jesus wrote this and in places all around the world today, water is not so easy to come by.  1.1 Billion people in the world do not have access to clean water.

When I was in Rwanda a few months ago, I had the opportunity to visit one of the completed clean water wells that our church had the opportunity to fund.  It was amazing seeing the faces of the people as they came and pumped fresh, clean water into their jerrycans.  They described the dirty water that they used to gather to drink and wash from.

Today, I got an email from Mark Warren of Global Benefit who told me that Grace Capital Church’s funding has provided for the completion of  another new well in Rwanda.  This one provides water for 4000 people every day!  Jesus said a cup of water just to one of His little ones brings rewards, so I am looking forward to seeing God pour out blessings to our church- to people who give rather than just receive.

In the busy season of Christmas shopping, it’s time for all of us to reflect on those with far less than we have…people that will never have a fraction of the material wealth that we have.  But they can have water if you and I help give it to them.  After all, it’s what Jesus asked us to do.

-Peter

*Thanks to everyone at Grace Capital Church and Impact Youth for being so outward focused.  Your giving continues to bless thousands of people in the continent of Africa.  To date we have raised over $35,000 and completed two new wells in Rwanda as well as rehabbed 6 other wells in the Central African Republic and in Sierra Leone.

Why We Exist

I made a phone call the other day, kind of out of the blue.  Something in me wanted to call a man that I had spoken to in the past about some business.  As the conversation went on, I knew that the call was much more than business.  It was clear that he was struggling with some things and needed some prayer.  I’m always reluctant to ask someone if I can pray for them, especially if I’m unsure of how they’ll respond.  This was true in this case.   Although I’m a pastor, I’m not this man’s pastor and I’m not even certain that he goes to church.

How many times do we miss the opportunity to reach out with the love of God, so consumed with our own lives and our own plans that the people right in front of us is invisible?  I think this is so true of many of us in the church.  We look at the blessings of being a Christian without understanding that we are blessed to be a blessing.  It’s really why we exist as followers of Christ- why the church exits in the world.

Someone once said that the church is the only organization that exists for those who aren’t members of it.  I like that quote…but I need to live it out more.  To be outward focused instead of inward focused is more than a matter of self-discipline.  It takes a constant remembering of where we came from and how God brought others into our lives when we were not following Him.  It’s how God came to us in the form of another person- to bring life.

The Christmas story speaks to us about God being “incarnate” in Christ; meaning God became man in order to relate to us and reach us on our level.  “He came to his own, but his own did not receive Him.  Yet to all who did receive Him, he gave the right to become children of God-” (Jn 1:11-12)  Incarnation didn’t stop with Jesus.  The church and those who are members of it, need to continue the process of restoring the broken, completing the task of Jesus.  Until we return to this mission, we will just be living our faith for ourselves alone.  And eventually that becomes a real drag!

It’s so easy to focus inward and miss the bigger picture of the world around us.  Like a light that is under a bushel, it makes no difference, shines in a very limited space, and even has the potential for internal combustion causing pain and damage.  But when we are engaged with the community that God has called us to reach, light shines so that the world may see our good deeds and praise the Father in heaven.

I’ve missed it so many times, but I’m grateful I made that phone call the other day.  Even though I believed I was calling for one thing (something that was about me), I obeyed the Holy Spirit who loves to draw people to Jesus.  God offers us many opportunities, and this is the season for giving, so let’s be a “go church”- a people that look outward not inward. This is why we exist!  We’ll be talking more about it beginning this Sunday in our new series: Them.  http://www.gccnh.com

-Peter

Reflect

Today I was reading from the book of Luke and was reminded of what it must have been like when Jesus said goodbye to his friends and disciples.  It wasn’t a time that he packed his bags and found a new job in a new city, but a time when life was literally cut short.  Voluntarily, Jesus went to the cross- but that didn’t make it any easier.

There is a particular passage that I caught for perhaps the first time.  It’s when the women are weeping as Jesus passes them by on the way to Calvary.  He looks at them and, with a word of both comfort and challenge, tells them that they should be weeping for the generations to come. It’s as though He is saying, you think it’s bad right now?  There will be a day when the tree (the cross) is not green, but brown- and on that day things will even be worse.

As I have been reflecting on this past year, I can’t help but to notice how things have gone from bad to worse in our country.  Of course, the obvious place to look is the economy, the infighting politically, wartime, and family turmoil.  But that’s not what I mean.  People have become more and more oblivious to the love and grace of God.  They have managed so well at avoiding the most obvious source of all that is good- Jesus himself.

As I reflect, I also think of the church that, in many ways, has become just as oblivious.  We sit around weeping for ourselves, while the world around us has no one to intercede for them.  It’s much easier for us to judge them and live our own “blessed” lives.  At least it has been…but maybe not so much anymore.  In fact, the stuff that is is affecting all of us on the outside may be just the thing we need to shake us up on the inside.

As I reflect, I think of Jesus passing us by as we’re weeping for ourselves, our financial issues and things not going as we wanted them to go.  Maybe we are weeping because we are afraid of what this means for us.  And then Jesus passes by and says- don’t just weep for Me, and don’t just weep for you- but weep and intercede and care for those who have no concept.

As I reflect, I want to go into 2009 with an attitude of intercession, love and hope.  As the government is creating bail-out plans, let’s remember that the greatest bail out ever took place on a cross and that the way is open to anyone who would say yes.  Reflect with me.

-peter

Home But Not Forgotten

I’m still catching up on sleep.  That’s what happens with jet lag and with the feeling of disengagement.  The trip to Rwanda seemed to go so quickly, probably becasue of how busy we were while there.  It was a good busy- a better busy than the American life offers us.

I want to thank all of you for praying for me on this trip.  I also want to thank the team from Grace Capital Church for making the mission so successful.  Thank you to the Smyths who are doing the most incredible job as missionaries and friends of the Rwandan people and the church.  We are so proud of you guys!

If you ever get the chance to go to Rwanda, please prayerfully consider it.  Your life will be changed forever. I’m home now, but I was at home among the believers there, and you would be too.

-Peter

Friends in High Places

Sunday in Rwanda is always full for missionaries.  It’s full because there are so many people worshiping God in so many diffferent churches.  It’s full because everyone of these churches would love to have you come and give a greeting.  And, it’s full because the whole day is given to God and to others.

Today I was asked to speak at one of our Foursquare churches three hours from the guesthouse we are staying at.  And not just any three hours- but three hours east up through one of the thousand hills.  The roads were dirt and rough and steep and meandering through small villages along the way.  There were times when I wondered if we would be able to climb them in the Nissan 4WD because of how narrow and how uncertain they seemed.  But, finally we arrived to a singing choir of people who were expectantly awaiting our arrival.  It seems that I was one of few Masungos (white person) that may have made it up to this village.  Most of the children were amused, but some were frightened.

As we worshiped together, we became friends.  My sermon notes were left in the pages of my Bible and I shared what I knew to share about Jesus being the only Way for all of us- Masungo or not.  Way up in these hills of Rwanda, I had new friends- friends in high places.  And many of them became friends with Jesus for the first time also.  I was so thrilled to see many respond to the message of God’s love and grace and accept Christ into their hearts!

Afterward, I was a guest at the pastors home- a meager mud house with two or three rooms.  Served the traditional drink of Fanta and the traditional meal of rice, boiled banana and stewed goat, we ate together and smiled and laughed and prayed.  Saying goodbye was like seeing off a close family member with pictures and embraces and holding the pastors small children.  It’s hard to believe it all happened so quickly, in just one day’s time- these friends in high places.

It took three hours to get there, but a lifetime of memories will be with me.  Mostly because I feel the Lord brought me there to receive their blessing, the blessing of knowing them and of helping them.  You see, the  Foursquare church started a school up in those hills so that the children would not have to walk 1-2 hours by foot.  And now children are coming from the surrounding hills to learn and to be brought to Jesus.  I think the Lord has called me to care deeply for my new friends in high places.

-Peter

A Lesson From Mud

Yesterday in Rwanda was a great day.   We did everything from visiting an orphanage, personal one-on-one times with sponsored children, a full scale evangelistic crusade and building a chicken coop!  That’s right, we built a chicken coop for a widow that Richard and Robin have taken the responsibility to care for.

We knew it would be messy, and it was as we stacked bricks made of dried mud and layered them with wet mud.  We felt like kids playing in mud and so did many of the children that came to join us.  Some of these kids were more interested than others and were very skilled in doing something we knew little about.  I was impressed with the intensity and the resourcefulness that they had.

This all felt like a Nehemiah moment for me…many  hands doing their part to make the work easy and really fun!  But it was also relevant at the end of the project.  I felt impressed to pull the children aside who were helping and individually bless them with some money- even though they didn’t ask.  They were surprised and blessed.  One boy who was standing right beside us wasn’t too happy though.  You see, all he was doing while the others were working was leaning on the wall and watching.  Almost as to say, I’m not interested.  But he was interested…at the very end when the kids who helped were receiving the blessing.  In fact, he tried to steal the money from one of the younger boys who worked really hard.

I guess the lesson I learned from mud is the lesson of teamwork.  All of us playing a part wherever we are, whatever our culture, whatever our age.  Like the workers who worked on different sections of the wall with Nehemiah and friends, God calls us to pick up some mud, carry a few bricks, draw some water and be “in it” together.  At the end, the rewards will come- and that’s not why we do it- but because the real reward is having our hands in the mud all at the same time!

Today we are off to another evangelistic crusade with Tentmakers- way up on the mountains in a small village where we will baptize and share the love of Jesus.  Thanks for your prayers!

-Peter

Widows and Wells

Today was an incredible day in Rwanda.

We started out by going to a remote village to visit a woman with several children who Richard and Robin have “adopted” by providing food and resources for.  Mother Theresa once said something like this: you can’t feed the whole world, but you can help to feed one.  As we arrived at her home, she and her two little ones welcomed us with open arms.  We were pleased to see that the seven chickens that TentMakers (Smyths) bought for her were healthy and growing- these are chickens that she is raising and then selling for an income to provide for her family.  We had a wonderful time visiting and then praying for this family.  While we were at this home, many of the other team members were visiting with other widows and orphans- many a result of the genocide years ago.

Later in the day, several of us drove out to the small village where Grace Capital Church, Global Benefit and several others raised funds to dig our first clean water well.  The children were gathered around as must be there regular habit of fetching water for the family.  Before this well was there, they would scoop water from a dirty ravine or have to buy water at another larger village.  Now they have all they want to drink, to wash, or even to play in- living water!

To see this well and the water pumping out of it firsthand made me teary eyed.  Something so simple that we take for granted.  It is a source of life and health.  I arrived feeling so proud of those of you who gave to make this possible.  And now our second well is about to be dug!  I’m looking forward to many more, for each one represents a sacrifice of our resources to touch the lives of others.

Our team is not yet ready to go home…in fact I don’t think they ever will be (ready) as they are talking about their return trip with other friends and family members.  Maybe you’ll be next!

Peter

Ready in Season

I arrived in Rwanda this morning and was shuttled to the guest house before heading out to the hospital to preach at a chapel service.  This was one of those “always be ready” moments- even when you’re tired and don’t feel ready.  God is good though, and it turned out well.  I spoke about the paralyzed man who was helped by two of his friends to get to Jesus.  Considering the chapel service was filled with many of the hospital workers, this really hit home for them as they daily help and servie others.

Afterward we had an opportunity to pray for many people at the hospital, including lots of little ones in two separate wards.  One little girl was tiny and born deformed.  When I asked how old she was, I couldn’t believe it- 13 years old.  It was a blessing to pray for her and her sweet face- and a blessing to thank the two ladies who were her caretakers.  They are truly doing the work of Jesus here in Rwanda.

The team is doing great and very excited about how the Lord is using them!  It’s always neat to watch God build a team and build relationships while serving!

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Layover

We made it from Boston to Amsterdam on a red eye flight last night.  Here we sit in the airport waiting for our next flight to Africa.  The term layover is a nice way to say “a very long wait on uncomfortable chairs.”  Anyway, thinking about how we can actually get half way around the world in such a short amount of time is truly amazing.  We’ll be in Rwanda tomorrow and look forward to joining the rest of the team from Grace Capital Church.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers during this time.  I’ll try and update photos on my facebook page as well as here on the blog.